Career Exploration: Being a District Attorney

 

Choosing a career path can be extremely intimidating to a young person. In this Career Exploration series, I interview many different fields of study to help students explore the possibilities as they pursue a career path.

Meet Bruce Hoffer, 1^st Assistant District Attorney of Hardin County, Texas.

Why did you choose this career path?

AFTER WATCHING THE MOVIE, "AND JUSTICE FOR ALL", I WANTED TO BE "THE GREAT DEFENSE ATTORNEY, BUT THEN I REALIZED THAT I WOULD BE IN THE COURTROOM MORE OFTEN AS A PROSECUTOR.

What kind of education, training, or background does your job require?

AN UNDERGRADUATE COLLEGE DEGREE IN ANYTHING AND THEN A LAW SCHOOL DEGREE (JURIS DOCTOR).

What skills, abilities, and personal attributes are essential to success in this field?

DEPENDS ON THE AREA OF LAW ONE PRACTICES WITHIN.  FOR TRIAL WORK - LIKE I DO - PEOPLE SKILLS AND THINKING ON YOUR FEET.

What does a typical work day look like for you?

I REVIEW A MULTITUDE OF DIFFERING TYPES OF CRIMINAL SITUATIONS AND PEOPLE OF VARYING BACKGROUNDS.  I READ A LOT (BOTH CASE FILES AND LEGAL OPINIONS). I SUPERVISE SUPPORT STAFF IN PREPARING DOCUMENTS OR OBTAINING EVIDENCE.  I COMMUNICATE - BOTH IN WRITING AND ORALLY ON THE TELEPHONE - WITH OPPOSING LAWYERS "THE STATE'S POSITION" ON A PARTICULAR ALLEGED CRIME PURPORTEDLY COMMITTED BY A PARTICULAR INDIVIDUAL.  I SEEK TO FIND MITIGATING EVIDENCE THAT MAY CHANGE MY VIEW OF A PARTICULAR CASE.  ULTIMATELY, I "PRESENT EVIDENCE" TO A JUDGE OR JURY AND REITERATE MY VIEW OF THE FACTS PRESENTED.  WHEN WE DO GO TO TRIAL, I QUESTION THE POTENTIAL JURY PANEL REGARDING THEIR VIEWS OF PARTICULAR FACTS, OF PARTICULAR CRIMES AND HOW THEY THINK ABOUT VARIOUS THINGS - WHETHER THEY SEE THE "BIG PICTURE" OR INDIVIDUAL PARTS THAT MAKE UP THE WHOLE.

What do you like most about your work?

THE HIGH ANXIETY OF TRIAL.

What do you like least about your work? 

GETTING READY FOR TRIAL, ANTICIPATING TRIAL AND THEN SOMETHING OCCURS WHEREIN THE TRIAL IS POSTPONED.

What advice would you give someone who is considering a career in your field?

MULTITASK (LISTEN TO MUSIC, WATCH TV AND STUDY ALL AT THE SAME TIME).  PAY ATTENTION TO SENTENCE STRUCTURE.

Super Teacher Worksheets - Crew Review

 

Disclaimer: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

For this review, I received a one-year membership to Super Teacher Worksheets which provides me unlimited access to printable worksheets in all subject areas for PreK-8^th grade levels. The worksheets are organized by subject.

Need help with math? Check out the math page for worksheets on addition, angles, area, decimals, fractions, geometry, graphing, measurement, money, multiplication, percent, perimeter, place value, subtraction, telling time, volume, word problems, and more.

Need help with phonics? Visit the phonics page for worksheets on consonant sounds, vowel sounds consonant blends, consonant diagraphs, and word families.

Need help with reading? Check out the reading page for worksheets on reading comprehension, writing prompts, and writing worksheets. Best of all, there are chapter book literacy units for Boxcar Children books, Magic Tree House books, and many more!

Need help with grammar? Visit the grammar page for worksheets on nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, punctuation, and more. The site also includes spelling curriculum with word lists, games, and assessments. Each grade has 30 units of spelling worksheets.

Need help with science? Check out the science page for worksheets on animals, electricity, the human body, matter, simple machines, space, weather, and more.

Need help with social studies? Visit the social studies page for worksheets on explorers, landforms, and maps. Best of all, there are a variety of worksheets to help students learn about each of the 50 states!

Of all the resources available on this site, my favorite is the worksheet generator. This tool allows you to make your own customized worksheets, word search puzzles, games, quizzes, and more. I used this tool to create worksheets for my Sunday School class.

Another aspect that I like about this site is the filing cabinet. Members have access to a filing cabinet which allows you to save your favorite worksheets, allowing for easier access in the future.

Visit the Crew Blog to read more reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew.

The Fellowship of the Ring Study Guide - Crew Review

 

Disclaimer: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

For this review, I received a PDF digital download of the Lordof the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Study Guide from Progeny Press. This interactive study guide is written for grade levels 9-12. With the interactive file, students have the capability of entering their answers directly on the computer and saving their work in progress. The interactive file does not automatically grade the student’s work, the teacher still grades their work right from the computer, and can leave comments or notes within the file. You may also print off the study guide, purchase of the study guide entitles an individual teacher to reproduce pages for use in the classroom or homeschool. Multiple teachers may not reproduce pages from the same study guide. I print these study guides so the pages are easily available as we work through the chapters.

Like all Progeny Press study guides, the Fellowship of the Ring Study Guide includes:

·         A concise synopsis of the book.

·         Information about the author.

·         Ideas for pre-reading activities.

·         Literary analysis and terminology questions to give students a good understanding of writing technique and how to use it.

·         Critical analysis questions designed to help student consider and analyze the intellectual, moral, and spiritual issues in the literature and weigh them with reference to Scripture.

·         A complete answer key.

Our family has been using Progeny Press literature study guides for years. As we work through each study guide, we read the selected chapters and then we complete one section each day, as we thoroughly study each aspect of the story. What I love most about Progeny Press literature study guides is the “Digging Deeper” section. After reading a portion in the book, we now see what God’s Word has to say about the topic or subject matter. I highly recommend Progeny Press because we’re able to study literature from a Christian perspective!

The Fellowship of the Ring is the first volume in J.R.R. Tolkien's epic adventure tale, The Lord of the Rings. In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, as told in The Hobbit. In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.

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Lies Girls Believe - Crew Review

 

Disclaimer: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

Lies Girls Believe and A Mom’s Guide to Lies Girls Believe from True Girl helps you confront lies with truth together. Just as Jesus grew in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52) we can help our 9-12-year-old girls grow in wisdom and discover truths from God’s Word to confront the enemy’s lies.

I like how this book begins with the first woman who believed a lie – Eve. Believing the lie led to eating the fruit God told her and Adam not to eat. But there is something more powerful than the enemy’s lies, and that is God’s truth. This book navigates some challenging subjects, such as becoming a woman, using social media, embracing God’s design for marriage, motherhood, and more; but with each lie the author presents a truth nugget using God’s Word because His truth sets us free from the –

Lies about God

Lies about Self

Lies about Family

Lies about Sin

Lies about Being a Girl

Lies about Boys

Lies about Friendship

Lies about the Future

To use this set, you will read A Mom’s Guide to Lies Girls Believe at the same time/pace your daughter reads Lies Girls Believe (be sure to have your colored pencils ready to underline key concepts). You will pray for your daughter. Then you will talk with your daughter using the conversation suggestions at the end of each chapter.

Although this book is written for pre-teens, it is also a great study for teens. My girls and I could really relate with truth number nine because we do have a close relationship. My girls know they can come to me no matter what; but most of all they know the Lord will bless them for honoring their parents. I like how this book encourages my girls to accept our decisions (without argument or silent treatment), to ask for advice, to be respectful (even when we disagree), and it encourages them to forgive (it’s not always easy to tell a teen “I was wrong” and ask forgiveness but these times have only strengthened our relationship). This book not only brings mothers and daughters closer to each other; but also brings mothers and daughters closer to Christ.

Visit the Crew Blog to read more reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew.

ARTistic Pursuits Art Core 5 - Crew Review

 

Disclaimer: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

Drawing with Water-Soluble and Graphite Pencils Advanced Level Art Core 5 from ARTistic Pursuits helps students discover their own creative strengths in the arts using materials of their choice to create drawings in water-soluble and graphite pencils. This advanced course is for the more experienced art student, it is not for a beginner student.

The physical book comes with video lessons which show students how to use their art materials. DVD and Blu-ray disks come with the book; but streamed format is also available online. This course always students to learn through video lessons or text lessons. There are nine video lessons that allow students to work independently as they learn drawing techniques and how to apply the lesson to their own unique works of art. There are twenty-seven text lessons that broaden the scope of learning as students learn about line, space, shape, texture, value, form, facial forms, human forms, and still life forms.

I have a daughter in college who is pursing a degree in Studio Art and she would agree that this is an advanced course for a high school student; but yet it was very simple for her a college student. Below I will share her work from the master lesson in unit eight on applying the element of form to the figure. As the book states, “When working from images, it is important to select photographs rather than another artist’s image. You want to start with the most information possible and edit from there. When using a photograph, you do not need to include everything that is in it. Artists can make clear pictorial statements because they can eliminate all distractions.”

What sets ARTistic Pursuits apart from other art curriculums? ARTistic Pursuits is broad based: teaching not only how to use the art materials, but emphasizing theory by teaching the elements of art and composition, and then adding artwork and biographies of the Masters with a history content. But the most striking feature is that students of all ages are taught to draw from direct observation, rather than copy what the teacher does. Rather than developing dependent learners, there method produces independent learners who are able to draw from anything they see in their world.

Visit the Crew Blog to read more reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew.